During the recent concluded Christmas Mass, Bluestar executive members and members of the Muslim community in Canberra, visited the Catholic and New Uniting Church to share in the spirit and festivities of Christmas.This was the inaugural time that Bluestar has partaken in celebrating with our Christian friends the important day of Christmas.
Bluestar views these visits as a great way to establishing dialogue and long lasting friendships with other faith communities. Mr Abdul Celil Gelim, the executive director of Bluestar expressed his heartfelt desire that faith communities should go beyond dialogue and join in each other's faith tradition by visiting one another during special times such as Christmas.
On Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass, we visited the Holy Spirit Parish In Gungahlin where Father Mark Croker, Parish Priest at the church welcomed 15 members of the Muslim community to the Church. As part of the church's effort to enhance Muslim-Christian relations, Father Croker did a short presentation introducing Bluestar's mission and the Muslim community in Canberra to his congregation.
On Christmas Day, we attended Mass at the Canberra City Uniting Church where Minister Ivan Roberts welcomed another 15 members of the Muslim community to the Church. We were invited by the Minister to read verses from the Holy Koran. Mrs. Zuheyda Gelim, member of the women's wing of the Bluestar Intercultural Centre read verses 16-36 from Chapter 9 (Surah Maryam) narrating the birth of Jesus and its significance. The event was an illustration of the many similarities between the two Abrahamic faiths.
Bluestar would like to thank the Holy Spirit Parish and the Canberra City Uniting Church for opening their doors and hearts to the Muslim community and making us feel at home in their beautiful churches. These events are manifestations of the strong inter-faith relations between members of different religious communities. We hope that this will be the beginning of many more beautiful events that would bridge the different faith communities in Canberra.
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